Frontex goes global: A two-level experimentalist governance analysis of Frontex's international action and its role within the externalisation of EU borders

Abstract

The European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) has progressively expanded its international footprint by collaborating with non-European Union (EU) partners to enhance the management and security of the EU's external borders. This article examines the development of Frontex's external relations through a two-level experimentalist governance lens and considers its impact on the EU's externalisation policy. The article contends that Frontex has enhanced its international profile in a context where EU policy actors' allocated goals have remained vague. The agency has had considerable autonomy in implementing these goals and has actively broadened its operational scope. The accountability dimension of Frontex's external relations, however, remains an important concern. To address this challenge, the article advocates greater transparency and disclosure, along with increased parliamentary and public oversight of Frontex.